Photo by Thomas de LUZE on Unsplash

I haven’t been writing as much as I usually did because my son’s leg is well and truly screwed, and he’s needed a lot more assistance than he might have for most other leg injuries. Family is and will always be my focus.

And that’s not a bad thing, ultimately, and it’s why I have taken a break from taking care of my boy to put words to page today.

After all, I don’t really recognize the world of today.

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On one hand, we’re getting the future we were promised. We’ve got AI, flying cars, and humanoid robots. It’s just a matter of time before they become ubiquitous in our lives to a greater degree than they are right now.

Artificial intelligence won’t pass the Turing Test as it stands, but it’s a lot closer now than it was even a few years ago, and while I’ve got concerns, it’s just because I’m a science fiction nerd who knows how badly this can go if we’re not careful.

The problem is that the future we now find ourselves living in isn’t the utopian world we were also promised, which I never actually expected, but the opposite. We live in a world where every election is an existential crisis, all because one side has lost its ever-loving mind and seeks to bring about the end of days.

Maybe that’s a little hyperbolic, but not by much. We actually have people advocating for human extinction but who lack the testicular fortitude to start the process with themselves. We have people who want to sterilize our children for their own political purposes and who have convinced a surprising number of people that having children is a terrible thing.

To be fair, not everyone should have kids. Some people are too broken to be good parents, and even if they get help, will probably never be good parents. No shade on those folks for deciding whatever cycle of trauma produced them can end with them.

But my own daughter says she doesn’t want to have kids because someone, somewhere convinced her it was just too dangerous. Never mind that the whole “died in childbirth” thing, while not completely gone, is exceedingly rare. They managed to convince her it’s not worth the risk.

I hope she grows out of it, because she’s only 14, but still…

Maybe this is just me getting older, but I don’t like what I see in too many places. There are reasons to be hopeful, sure, but even the more conservative up-and-coming generation aren’t exactly paragons of virtue. They flirt with racism like it’s Sydney Sweeney on a bender, among other issues, and while I’m find with off-color humor, I worry that some of them aren’t joking.

I’m not doompilling, though.

See, I don’t understand the world I see anymore, but I don’t see any reason why we can’t make it a better world, just the same. Things change. What we need are better role models in society, people who can show a path and walk it themselves, and it be something that’s worthy of being walked.

I’d love to be that person, but I’ve come to terms with the fact that my own reach will likely always be somewhat limited. I can embrace the old-school chivalric ideals and try to become the ideal paragon of virtue if I want, but outside my household, I doubt anyone will pay any attention.

And that’s fine, I suppose, but I’m bothered that no one on either side seems to give a damn about that.

Think about Andrew Tate for a moment.

He’s a disgusting human being, at best, yet he managed to reach thousands of young men. Imagine if he’d found a way to use those powers for good instead of evil. He didn’t, though, and that’s where we have a problem.

Then again, the problem stems from before Andrew Tate. He’s not the reason we have a problem. He’s only a symptom of the disease, and it’s one that I’m not sure how to cure.

Maybe the fact that I’ve stepped back has made something clear that should have been obvious all along. Our nation is too divided to remain the United States. Something has to change, and since I want to be the change I see in the world, I’ll start. I don’t expect many to follow, but it’s all I can do.

Yes, I’ll still call out stupidity when and where I see it, and I won’t change my tone when I see it, because I doubt that softness does anyone any good.

But I also think I need to explore discussions that deal with things more on a cultural basis, of what can and should be the norm and why.

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This is risky, because between my medical bills and my son’s, I’m potentially risking alienating some of you into leaving. I’m not trying to, but I just need to change my approach in hopes of changing more than the odd mind here and there.

I don’t know; maybe I’m rambling again. Maybe I’m prattling on and making no sense to anyone.

Or maybe I am.

Either way, buckle up. Shit’s about to get really interesting around here.

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